


License To Kill

by TruebornAlpha



Series: Spy vs Spy [11]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Apologies, Assassin Stiles Stilinski, Assassins & Hitmen, Established Relationship, F/F, Infiltration, M/M, Spies & Secret Agents, Spy Scott McCall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 13:05:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6520945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TruebornAlpha/pseuds/TruebornAlpha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theo has fortified his position as the new head of Haletech and is determined to finish what Peter Hale started: taking over the world. The only way to stop him is to find the resources that can match one of the most powerful spy agencies, and that means going straight into the heart of the Hunters' Assassin Headquarters.</p><p>But Scott’s recovery is cut short on a knife’s edge, and Stiles won’t get there in time to stop it.</p><p>Or, that Sciles Spy AU!</p>
            </blockquote>





	License To Kill

Scott gripped the medical kit, flinging it at the voice and rolling forward to drop into a defensive crouch. His distraction worked for only a split second before the figure lunged, ring daggers glinting in their hands. It had been a long time since he’d seen the Ghost, one of the few who’d ever managed and lived. The Hunter’s top assassin was more myth than reality, he was almost honored that they’d send their best to end him.

The Ghost was a threat, he could see it in the way the assassin moved. They were well trained with an almost inhuman grace. Killshot was all brute force and violence, following the steps to Scott’s dance as he tried to lead him on, but the Ghost was different. Death whispered in every silent footstep and Scott’s smile was viciously sharp at recognizing a kindred spirit.

A dagger whistled by his ear as Scott twisted, the edge drawing a thin line of blood across his cheek before burying itself into the pristine white wall. He was bound and declawed, but if the Ghost had finally come for him, then the best of Haletech wouldn’t go quietly. He feinted, closing the gap between them as the Ghost twirled the remaining dagger, bringing it down in a sweeping arc to cut his throat. He caught the Ghost’s wrist with his shackles, twisting the metal hard enough that the dagger dropped from their grip so Scott could catch it easily. The Ghost’s eyes widened in surprise and Scott felt a rush of pride.

Scott made to attack with the knife, only to drop and sweep the Ghost’s feet out from under them at the last second. The Ghost fell, but turned into a roll, to keep from being dragged down. Scott’s torso screamed as he twisted after them, grabbing their mask. The fabric brushed against his fingers until his enemy pushed up on their side. Scott narrowly missed a kick to the head, turning just in time to tangle the Ghost’s ankle between his chains, yanking their foot back and forcing them off balance.

The Ghost twisted with a vicious snarl, bucking off the ground and wrapping their calves twisted around his throat, tightening hard enough to knock the air out of him.

“Not bad.” The mysterious figure teased, readjusting their mask. “I could almost believe you were the Wolf once.”

Scott punched against their thighs ineffectively, before rolling on his back and grabbing the fallen medical kit. It smacked his opponent in the head with a satisfying thunk. They loosened their grip just a fraction, and it was enough of a chance to get Scott to backflip over them, yanking their mask off before skidding to a halt opposite them.

Scott’s eyes widened with recognition. He’d never seen that face look so angry, but there was no mistaking her.

“Allison Argent? I ruled you out  _years_  ago.” He hissed, awe coloring his words.

She smiled at him, and lunged.

Stiles came back to the penthouse apartment with an armload full of groceries and a foul attitude. When he’d first brought Scott back the Hunters’ safe house, it had been a split second decision. They’d needed a place where no one else could find them and Stiles knew this particular apartment was rarely used unless there was a high level target in town, but the longer they stayed, the more likely that the Hunters would discover his betrayal.

He hadn’t meant to keep the Wolf a secret, a capture like that would have cemented his status as one of the greatest Hunters of all time. All he had to do was keep the spy alive along enough to dump him at Argent’s feet and he’d win. Except things were never as easy as he planned and the days passed slowly as he watched the Wolf heal. It wasn’t fair how much of Scott he could see in the other man, the hesitation and gentle touches. That same sly smile like he was almost apologizing for being happy and the way he swallowed down his fear so no one else could see.

The Wolf was a monster, he wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Stiles had let things go too far, falling into the trap of what could have been instead of keeping his distance. It scared him how easy it was to ignore all his training and every bit of common sense when the Wolf, when  _Scott_  gasped for him, opening up so prettily and so trusting. He couldn’t make that mistake again.

The door to the apartment was unlocked and Stiles’s heart leaped into his throat, an icy rush of adrenaline spilling into his veins. He dropped the bag and drew his weapon, nudging the door open silently with his toe and easing his way into the apartment. There was a low murmur of voices, too indistinct to make out, and the Hunter snarled as he stepped into the living room, leveling his weapon at Scott.

The spy blinked back at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. He sat curled in Stiles’s chair with his chained hands wrapped loosely around a steaming mug of tea. Allison Argent sat comfortably on the couch beside him, her legs crossed under her and a matching mug paused halfway to her lips.

“Stiles, put the damn gun away before you shoot someone.” She snapped.

Scott laughed quietly and leaned closer. “You know, he does this thing a lot.”

“I don’t know why he’s so shocked. He leaves his GPS tracker on so much, it’s almost like he wants visitors.” 

“You know, I’d figure it’d be street surveillance that did him in?” Scott commented absently, grinning shamelessly as Stiles’s expression turned decidedly bitter and he  _very reluctantly_  withdrew his gun. 

Stiles couldn’t figure it out. His nemesis was sitting across the room from the best operative he’d ever known. He was in one of Stiles’s old shirts, and the assassin hated that he noticed that first instead of the fresh bandages poking out of Scott’s collar. Even if her vest was folded on the seat next to her, Allison was still wearing the Ghost’s equipment, and no matter how pointedly he stared at her, all she did was smile.

“It’s okay, Stiles. I think your boyfriend’s cute.”

Stiles went pale, but Scott choked on his tea. He came out sputtering, getting to his feet, and Allison laughed at them both. “You left the door open. I’m just - I’m gonna go get those bags.”

“Not without me, you’re not!” Stiles snapped, meaning to round on him but there were two of them he needed to fight off now.

“Relax, Stiles. I can guarantee you Scott’s not going to walk out the door in his pajamas.” Allison teased. 

“I’ll deal with you later!” He outright snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at her dumb face. Allison’s smiled like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

Stiles hated knowing that she was right. Scott was picking up the groceries by the front door when Stiles found him. He looked a bottle of pickled relish over in his hand. It was his favorite. Or at least, he put it on everything with even half a bun on it. Stiles had watched him smear some on spicy Hawaiian pizza, chicken sandwiches, and one time, a jelly donut. Seeing Scott like this did all sorts of things to his heart that Stiles wished he could blame on adrenaline. He jumped when Stiles cleared his throat, hastily shoving the bottle back into his torn bag.

Stiles boxed him against the wall, furious though he couldn’t quite tell who he was angry with. Both him and Allison, the universe at large probably. He put his finger in Scott’s face, hooking the tip into the spy’s collar and tugging it down to look at the fresh bandage. “What’s this?”

The question startled Scott for a moment before his mask fell back into place and he shoved Stiles out of the way, heading into the kitchen with the groceries. “What the hell do you think it is? Allison’s good.”

“You know who she is?!” Stiles squawked, outraged as he flailed his arms irritably at the other Hunter. “How does he know who you are?”

“We’ve met before, though he was a whole lot smaller.” Allison said with a smile and Scott snorted from the kitchen.

“We were 12 and I don’t think that even really counts as a meeting.” He called back as Stiles sank into a chair with a groan, feeling like his worlds were crashing together. “Does trying to murder each other really count?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Allison took a sip of her tea and gave Stiles a pointed look. “It seems to have worked out for the two of you.”

There was a clatter from the kitchen and a hissed curse as Scott dropped a can on the counter top and Stiles didn’t know whether he wanted to throttle her or sink down into his chair and disappear forever. “Allison.” He whispered, leaning closer so Scott couldn’t overhear. “You can’t be here, what the hell were you thinking?”

She looked offended, setting her cup on the coffee table and fixing Killshot with her best disapproving frown. “Really? You’re going to try that with me when you have your Haletech lover hiding out in one of our safe houses while the whole city is looking for him? You’re just lucky I was the one who tracked you down instead of someone else.”

“I’ve got it handled.” He said sourly, sparing a glance back at the kitchen. “And he’s  _not_  my lover or anything. He’s an enemy agent and I was just…he was going to die. I needed him alive, I was going to bring him in.”

Allison rolled her eyes and reached over to smack her palm against Stiles’s forehead. “And I’ll bet you thought he was all locked up and safe in those chains you’ve got him in. He could have gotten out of those any time he wanted to. He held his own against  _me_  and even I could tell he’s not at his best, you really think he’d still be here if he hadn’t decided to stay?”

“You want me to kill him.” Stiles said. He was sure his heart stopped beating before he could get the words out. It was the logical choice. Scott was too much of a risk, and the Wolf was no longer any good to anyone now that Haletech had burned him. Except Allison rolled her eyes like he was giving her a headache. That felt a lot better than it should have.

“So anyway, it’s time we started talking about our mutual interest. We were waiting for you to get back, Stiles,” Allison said in a louder voice. “Oh I don’t mean your abs Scott, though Stiles made sure I could pick those out of a line up. He was very graphic.”

The spy choked, and nearly dropped the plate he’d been carrying, flushing a dark pink that Stiles hadn’t seen on him in a long time.

“Well you found them,” Scott said with a pinched smile, rubbing his torso with a wince, and Stiles had to stop himself from demanding to see how much damage Allison had done in what he hoped was a short visit. “What’ve you got?”

“The drive. I figured out what was on it. The Hunters have some history with its programmer,  _Clover_ aka Stephen Greenberg. He’s dead now, but I have reason to believe that he created a program that can bypass basically any government system on Earth, and there are still copies of it somewhere.”

“What do you intend to do with the program?” Scott asked softly, and the sweet, awkward boy that stole Stiles’s heart was gone. Stiles didn’t know what he’d left in his place, but he’d never seen the Wolf look so intense. This man was something else entirely.

“Destroy it.” Allison met Scott’s eyes, unwavering. “And make sure that no one, especially my Dad, ever gets their hands on that information again.”

It was a silent battle of wills, each looking for weakness or the hint of a lie. Something passed between them that Stiles could never understand. They were alike, shaped from childhood to be something beautiful and terrifying. Chris Argent had created a living weapon out of his daughter, no less cruel or well-intentioned than Peter Hale. They were made to be the deadliest enemies, taught to spend their lives trying to destroy each other and yet they could meet face to face without falling back on their deepest instincts. When Scott looked at her, he saw rebellion in her eyes.

They connected in a way Stiles couldn’t and watching them reach some unspoken decision made him uncomfortable. With the barest nod, Scott sat back down in the chair beside them and laid all his cards on the table. “Greenberg had a partner, but Peter died before we had a chance to secure him. As far as I can tell, he was in some Russian blacksite prison. The Chimera’s taken control of Haletech, and I’m sure he’s managed to pull the guy out by now, but I don’t know how far along he is in actually implementing the program. It would take him a while to recreate everything that was on the drive. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the Haletech systems anymore.”

He paused, glancing at Stiles before back to the Ghost. “I can get you into their systems, but I need more than just a laptop to do it.”

Even Allison felt sick. This was supposed to be behind them, but if there was a chance that the information still existed, then no one was safe. Worse, her father would find out about it someday and if he ever got his hands on it…she loved him, but there was a line she wasn’t willing to cross. All the digging she’d done on him suggested that he wasn’t as inhibited. 

“We need to know how far your Chimera’s gotten and put together a plan.” Allison was brisk and businesslike. “Our HQ should have all the equipment that you need.”

“Allison, can I talk to you?” Stiles hissed, grabbing the Ghost by her wrist and dragging her into the bedroom away from Scott. “Are you crazy? You can’t possibly be thinking about bringing the  _Wolf_ into our fucking HQ.”

“Then we’ll get rid of him. I can get what I need from him here and we’ll put him down before heading back. It’ll be harder if I have to crack their systems without help, but if I had enough time, I should be able to figure it out.” She said thoughtfully. “He’s cute, but this is too important and we can’t trust him. It might be safer this way.”

Stiles froze, acutely aware of the frown that was trying to twist across his lips. It was a struggle to remain impassive when it felt like his gut was trying to curl into itself. Funny how his suggestion in her mouth sounded a thousand times worse. “We have a higher chance of success with him around. Once we’re done, it’ll be easier to drop him in custody.”

Allison looked at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle. What she found made her smirk. There was something awfully infuriating about that, but Stiles couldn’t put his finger on it. Some people just wore smug better than others.

“A higher chance of success,” she repeated. “It’s good we’re all on the same page.”

“Right.” Stiles said, doing his best not to squint at her with all the suspicion he could muster. He didn’t do a great job. “ _Good._  Now you mind telling me what that is?”

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the dagger lodged in his wall. Allison just shrugged, the picture of innocence, and headed back out to their… guest. Even if he could only see the back of her head, Stiles could’ve sworn she was smiling.

When Allison left, a silence fell over the apartment. Their plan hung over their head like a specter, but Stiles wasn’t sure if he wanted it to distract him or if looking at it too closely would break his nerve. It was stupid and reckless and daring and  _really_  stupid, but working alongside the Ghost guaranteed this was going to be one hell of a ride. The Ghost and  _Scott_.

Scott had cleared away their dishes and was once again planted in front of an overly dramatic cooking show that cared too much about mouth texture. He hadn’t moved an inch, apparently transfixed by the screen. Stiles wanted to buy it, except he couldn’t stop looking at the unlocked shackles between them. Scott held his hands in his lap.

One of the judges called fancy pasta ‘phenomenal.’ They were going into explosive flavors, the sort that made Stiles wonder if he wasn’t eating right. The assassin spoke softly so he wouldn’t disturb them.

“You could’ve left at any time.”

Scott twitched, like he was trying to keep himself from bristling. “Yeah.”

It was a loaded answer, but why, Stiles didn’t dare say. He swallowed thickly, looking down at his hands in a bid to find his courage or disguise his gal before he asked, “Why didn’t you?”

When he looked back up, Scott was fixing him with an inscrutable expression. Stiles suddenly wanted to apologize. Without another word, Scott got to his feet and started back towards the bedroom, but he stopped at the door. He didn’t look over his shoulder when he spoke.

“Why do you care?”

Stiles didn’t have an answer for him, but as the bedroom door closed Stiles realized he’d have to hurry. Scott wasn’t going to wait forever.

‘ _Are you sure you can do this? You only get one shot.’_

Scott would’ve been insulted if he hadn’t already lost track of how many times Stiles had asked. Across from him was the Hunters’ temporary base, an imposing figure of metal and glass. It should have been impenetrable, with surveillance monitoring even the outer wall of the building, but he wasn’t working on his own. Scott kept hidden in the shadow of a water tower on the roof of a neighboring building. He was just waiting for his chance to strike, for that little dent in their defenses. Then someone opened a window.

“I’m no Killjoy, but I know how to work a gun.”

“It’s Killshot. You  _know_  it’s Killshot. I swear to God-” Scott winced as a string of angry expletives threatened to deafen him, but he couldn’t stop himself from grinning. Through his view scope, he could see where his grappling hook had landed, creating a path between buildings. It went right through the tiny opening in the building, about a foot from Killshot’s arm. Stiles flipped him off.

Scott attached his harness to the cable.

He loved this part and if he was honest, he’d missed the rush. There was no denying that the Wolf ran deep and after being trapped in a cage for so long, he was ready for some fun. Scott flexed his hands, smiling at the weight of the claws on his fingertips and feeling whole in a way he hadn’t in so long. He hooked himself to the cable and zip-lined between the buildings, releasing the clasp in one swift motion to roll through the window. Stiles hadn’t moved back fast enough and Scott’s feet landed heavily against his chest.

Stiles hit the ground with a yelp, rubbing his chest with an angry scowl. “What the hell?!”

“You were in my way.” He said nonchalantly, unhooking his harness and dropping it behind a desk. “Next time, you should pay closer attention.”

“Hey!” Stiles got to his feet with the grace of an overturned turtle and grabbed for Scott’s arm. “There is no next time if you don’t do exactly what I tell you! If anyone finds out you’re here, we’re all dead. So  _I’m_  in charge.”

Sharpened metal bit into Stiles’s skin right below his chin, tipping his head back on the points of the Wolf’s claws. The spy smiled at him, hard edged and cold enough to make him shiver. It wasn’t right that Scott’s face could seem so cruel. He leaned in close, lips brushing over Stiles’s own and the assassin was too surprised to pull away. “Or what?” The words were murmured into his mouth with an unspoken promise. “You’ll kill me? I think we both know you already messed that one up.”

Stiles snarled and shoved the other man hard against the wall and ignored the way one claw caught under his chin, breaking through the skin with a beaded drop of blood. “Not everything is a fucking game! You don’t get to-“

“Awww, too close to home, Killjoy?” Scott taunted, enjoying the way Stiles’s eyes slid to the side. “You always liked to play with me before. Don’t tell me you stopped having fun just because I’m not wearing a mask. I could always find one if that’s what you’re into.”

“Fuck you.” Stiles spat as Scott’s laughter crawled beneath his skin. “Stop doing this, it’s not you.”

“Nah, I learned from that mistake. And it _is_ me, Stiles. It’s exactly who you want me to be. Now are you going to get me into your ops center or am I going to have to wander this place blind?” When Stiles turned away, Scott hated how empty the victory felt.

“You keep pushing your luck, and I’ll put you down.” Stiles warned. Scott grumbled under his breath, but it was a token protest. He couldn’t decide if he believed the assassin or not, and right now, he wasn’t going to make any bets. Killshot pulled a lab coat out of the shoulder bag he’d been toting. “Come on. The operations center is on the other end of the floor.”

“Your inside man better pull through.“ Scott kept his head down. As long as he kept by Stiles’s side, no one seemed to look at them too closely. Allison was running interference, making sure that none of their activities were caught on camera, or anywhere else, while their mysterious inside man prepared their exit route. Even then, they were running low on time. It didn’t help that Stiles kept looking over his shoulder like a wanted man.

“Are you dragging your feet so much because you want to get caught?” Scott hissed. “You don’t need the back up. I can fight you one-handed next time, even the playing field a little.”

“You don’t actually need all your teeth to do this job. Let me help you out there, buddy,” Stiles threw back, just as pleasantly. Then his phone dinged, and Stiles knew they only had a window of opportunity to get to their destination before the electric locks reset. They didn’t run the whole way, but just barely. 

They’d just stepped through the door to the operations center before it slid shut behind them with a click. Scott breathed a sigh of relief and had to admit, he was impressed. He had never thought much about the Hunters’ ability to gather intelligence. They were pesky killers, selling their skills to the highest bidders. Assassin was too nice a word for them, they were thugs who didn’t care about the delicacy of intelligence or the power you could wield by pulling the stings. A quick payoff was enough to entice them, but the room was full of top of the line monitoring equipment that rivaled anything at Haletech. If Peter had been alive, he’d have been furious. If Peter was alive, Scott could go home again…

Scott shoved the thought away and settled himself down at one of the terminals, using Stiles’s access pass to log into the system. He wasn’t much of a hacker, but all he had to do was log into Haletech’s systems remotely and set the alert. Theo probably hadn’t bothered to redo their elaborate cyber security checks, what would be the chance Scott could have access to a system like this?

“I can’t change anything from here, but I can see if the Chimera has uploaded the program. If he hasn’t, then we’ll be able to track if it goes live, which should hopefully give us enough time to react.” Scott said, all business as he slowly worked his way through the layers of security.

“So we have a ticking time bomb.” Stiles snorted, crossing his arms and watching Scott closely to make sure that the Wolf didn’t access anything sensitive. If this was some kind of trap, he just handed the keys of their entire system over to the enemy. The Wolf could bring them all down from the inside and Stiles would have let it happened, he was a traitor and-

Alarms blared and both men jumped, Scott hissing an a string of filth as he frantically typed. “No! Fuck you no, I’m so close! Come  _on_.”

“What the hell did you do?”

“Don’t put this on me, this is your freaking system. You said you could get me in without tripping any security.” Scott slammed his fist against the table. “I need more time, I’m not through yet. You have to buy me time.”

“Are you crazy?!” There was a heavy pounding on the door as Hunter Security forced open the lock, weapons drawn. Killshot moved before they could pour into the room, drawing their fire away from Scott and squawking into his communicator.

“Allison, we have trouble!”

“No kidding.” Her voice crackled back into his earpiece, but she was too far away to reach them. The operation was blown, they were all going to die as traitors. They’d brought Haletech into the heart of their operations, there was no way they were going to be allowed to walk away from this. Stiles had signed their death warrants, this was the end. He looked at Scott, grimly typing even as bullets whizzed past his head, trying desperately to finish the code. If they were going to die here, Scott was going to at least give Allison a fighting chance to stop Theo, he just needed a one…more…second…

“Everybody down!” A voice yelled over the fight and Stiles dashed across the room, tackling Scott to the ground to shield him.

All at once, a set of tranquilizers were rapidly fired from an exceptionally heavy looking gun.

Scott snarled as he was knocked sideways, his laptop stubbornly clinging to its terminal as he scrambled to type in the last few digits before activating the program. Relief coursed through his veins. His face turned up almost instinctively, to find Stiles right over him. Scott’s heart lodged in his chest, and for a moment, he could feel the assassin’s breath on his cheek. Scott hated the way his skin flushed and how his instinct was to just tip his head up and close the distance between them.

Stiles’s mouth worked silently like he was trying to say something. _Just tell him the truth._ On the screen, the progress bar on the screen reached 100% with a crisp beep. It was drowned out by an excited cheer, and Stiles’s moment was lost.

“Yes! I didn’t think that would work! I didn’t think I’d be able to see my baby in action, she’s perfect.”

Scott jerked away from the other man, furious at his own lapse. He pushed his way passed Killshot and studiously ignoring the way the other man tensed. He recognized the laboratory technician from his last run in with the Hunters, her hair in an elaborate braid down the side of her head this time. It bounced against her shoulder when she wiggled enthusiastically in a shameless victory dance, punching her fist in the air with a gun that was almost as big as herself.

“Kira! Oh thank God! What the Hell was that?” Stiles said, elbowing his way passed Scott. With an icy smile, he added, “You remember the Wolf.”

She didn’t seem to share his bitterness, throwing Scott a winning grin that was almost enough to make the spy feel shy. “Now we’re even.” She grimaced a second later, immediately contrite even as Scott tilted his head towards her with amused acceptance. “Just field testing my latest weapon, the Firefox. Worked like a charm! But we have bigger things to worry about. Come on, I’ve got the escape route -”

“Kira.” 

From the end of the hall, her name was called in a breathless exhale, but it was enough to silence the room. The Ghost was never dumbstruck.

The gun hit the ground with a heavy thunk as Kira took a started step towards the other woman and then stopped herself with an awkward squirm. “Miss Argent.” She murmured, catching herself, but drawn irresistibly to the other Hunter like they had their own gravity. Kira just managed to stop herself, focusing instead on picking up the gun. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep her distress from sharpening her features. Allison couldn’t take her eyes off of her.

There was so much unspoken in the air, Stiles could feel it like a weight. There was history in the way they looked at each other, the gentle way they brushed hands like they wanted to ask for more but afraid to take that step. The tension broke with a snap, like the tight recoil of a rubber band pulled too far. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Kira’s expression turned stormy. “You should stop trying to make decisions for me, especially when you need my help… ma’am.” 

She turned away, looking back out the corridor to make sure the coast was clear, and in doing so, missed the way Allison’s expression crumbled with heartache.

“I miss you.” Allison’s words were so soft that Stiles almost missed them, but he saw how the Hunter pulled herself back. 

Then Chris Argent’s voice cut in over the alarms, drowning out everything else. “There’s traitors in our building! Killshot and Yukimura die on sight. Bring me my daughter alive-” The voice cut out in with the sound of garbled electronics. Allison’s knife had silenced the tirade and the speaker sparked and buzzed brokenly.

 _No one hurt Kira_.

“Killshot, you’re with me.” The Ghost commanded leaving no room for debate. “Kira, go back to your lab and stay there.”

“No offense, ma’am, but hell no.” Kira hoisted the enormous weapon on her shoulder and shook her head. “If you’re going, I’m going. I can hold my own… We used to be so good together.”

Allison inhaled sharply. She looked like she wanted to argue but Stiles put a hand on her arm. “We’re running out of time.”

“Fine. We deal with my father first.” But the look she sent Kira was for the other woman alone. “Watch my back.”

Kira’s smile was a fragile, hopeful thing. Allison wished she was the only one who could claim it. “It’s what I do best.” 

The Hunters came in waves, hidden around every corner, grim-faced and determined. Cutting down traitors was part of the job description, but not one of the more enjoyable tasks. They emerged ready to destroy. It was slow work, hacking their way through the Hunters’ headquarters. 

Stiles couldn’t help but think they could have moved faster. Something was off. Every battle took too long. Every fight held too many mistakes. They shouldn’t have. The best of Haletech and the Hunters were working together, but they were brawling like cadets.

Scott snarled as Stiles almost winged him, shooting a guard that had attacked from the Wolf’s side. “You almost hit me! You going blind or are you really a shit shot?”

“I took him down, didn’t I?” Stiles bit back, getting right into the Wolf’s face. “Sorry for saving your ass  _again_. That’s two you owe me today.”

“My hero.” Scott mocked, shoving Stiles away and sending the Hunter stumbling into the wall. He raked his claws down another guard’s face, sending their attacker to the ground with a scream of pain. “Awww, careful. You’re being clumsy.”

“Will you two knock it off?” Allison ordered and the two men fell into a sullen silence. Kira was right by her side offering quiet reassurances and Stiles felt a pang of regret. He and the Wolf had fought as a team once and even if they’d been trying to kill each other, they’d worked together with a sort of flawless rhythm. Or maybe it had been him and Scott all along. They were in each other’s way now, sniping more at each other than the guards that rushed to stop them from fighting their way to Chris Argent’s office. Kira and Allison moved like a machine, taking down anyone who stood against them and Stiles was jealous of the way they trusted each other even in the middle of a fight.

He had no one to blame but himself.

When they finally threw open the doors to Chris Argent’s office, they were greeted by a gale of bullets. As Scott and Stiles scrambled along the floor, Allison dragged Kira down behind a couch while Kira calibrated her magnificently modified gun. She wasn’t the best tech in the Hunters for nothing and even if everyone refused to see her as being worthy of an Argent, she had faith in her own creations. A sharp, shrill noise pulsed from the weapon, the sonic blast enough to send the guards to the ground, doubled over and bleeding from their ears.

Their little group had avoided the worst of it, but Stiles’s ears were still ringing when he got to his feet, moving to make sure their former allies stayed down. Scott following after him as if he was walking through molasses, head pounding and disoriented, but Allison and Kira descended on Chris with predatory grace, fitting together seamlessly like they were built for one another. 

Stiles took down one of Chris Argent’s personal guards, trying to force her gun out of her hands. He’d cold-cocked her with the barrel of her own weapon when Scott fell upon him, tugging on his arm frantically. Killshot recoiled instantly with a snarl, refusing to be moved, and a splatter of blood exploded in front of him.

A look of utter horror crossed Scott’s face as Stiles’s ear was torn off. He couldn’t react fast enough, snatching the gun from Killshot’s numb fingers and firing off a round that cut through the perpetrator’s knees. The assassin went down with a howl, and Scott fell upon him like the devil. His claws were bloody when he pulled away, but the man still had his life, and Stiles slowly, slowly pulled himself back to his feet.

Across the room, Allison broke her father’s arm.

“TRAITORS!” Argent screamed loud enough that everyone stopped, the guards looking on in confusion between their leader and their heir. “You brought a Wolf into our home. A monster!”

“No!” Allison leveled a kick at her father, knocking him to the ground. Kira was just a step behind her, keeping the Firefox trained on Chris’s chest. “ _You’re_ the monster! I know what you were going to do and I know how many people were going to die because of you.”

“I was protecting them!” Chris yelled, eyes wild. “They were all planning on attacking us, I was wiping them out first. They’re the enemy, Allison. I taught you to hunt those who hunt us.”

“You taught me to hurt people, Dad.” Allison’s voice went soft and dangerous as the room fell into a hush. “You taught me to give up the person I love because our duty was more important than me or anything I wanted. You taught me that it was all worth it to  _protect_  people, but this isn’t protecting anyone. You always wanted me to be a leader, so you get what you want. I’m taking over the organization.”

“You can’t-” Chris’s protests were cut off as Allison smacked her hand against the intercom and broadcast the announcement throughout the Hunter’s building.

“This is Allison Argent. Effective immediately I will be assuming control of the Hunters, you may report directly to me.”

Chris seemed to sag, defeated. He’d created a daughter who would be a leader in his footsteps, he just never thought that it would be so soon. He didn’t even protest as Allison ordered the hesitating guards to take him away.

She slumped in her father’s chair, emotionally drained as Kira put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, I’m just…he was my Dad. He used to be my hero.” Her voice broke and Kira wrapped the other woman in her arms.

Kira tucked back a stray strand of hair behind Allison’s ear, carefully cradling the other woman closer, her smile softened with sorrow. “Today you were my hero. You made a hard call, and I am so proud of you.”

Allison’s trembled, a choked apology caught on her lips as she scrambled to meet Kira for a proper embrace, holding her close like she couldn’t bear the thought of ever letting go. 

Stiles looked away, embarrassed. There was something intimate about their moment. In all the years knowing the Ghost, he’d never seen Allison Argent look so vulnerable. Then a sharp twinge of pain threatened to make him jerk his head off his shoulders.

“Hold still. I’m going to bandage you up,” Scott said by his side, mouth pinched in a hard line as he examined the damage to Stiles’s destroyed ear, planning on getting the other man to whatever medical facility the Hunters had in this place once they were sure no one was going to challenge Allison. Killshot felt the request rather than heard it. Scott hadn’t let go of his elbow, pressed against his side, where he’d been the moment the Hunters started filing out of the room, supporting their injured, too stunned to even mutter among themselves. There were no casualties. That struck a chord that would resonate for a long time.

“We have to talk.” Stiles interrupted him abruptly, and the spy looked at him like he was worried Stiles was knocked on the head. Stiles swallowed thickly. It was the only way he could force himself to continue. “Really talk… I know why you stayed.”

Scott’s face slacked, as if a blind had been drawn across his emotions, hiding everything until all Stiles could see were glimpses. But he nodded once, curtly, and pulled away after pressing a tattered piece of cloth to the side of Stiles’s head. Stiles watched him go, and tried not to think that the spy was running away. ”Forget it. We need to get you to someone who can fix you up, you’re a mess. You’re talking nonsense, that’s the sign of a serious brain injury.”

“Scott, please.” Stiles followed him over, refusing to be brushed aside.

Scott didn’t look back. He approached Chris Argent’s computer slowly, giving Allison a chance to collect herself before pulling the keyboard closer. There was a blade lodged in the table, up to the hilt. Scott very carefully moved the mouse around it.

He linked up to the mainframe, pulling up the surveillance program that monitored Haletech’s system and breathed a sigh of relief. It was still running, none of the Hunters had shut down their operation. They could still come out on top of this and with Allison in charge, maybe they really had a chance. Maybe somewhere, Peter would be satisfied enough with the fact that Chris Argent had been deposed.

“You don’t get to call me that.” The Wolf hissed, voice low so they didn’t disturb Allison’s grief. “Leave me alone so I can finish this. Go take care of yourself.”

“Okay, I deserve that.” Stiles’s voice was so earnest that Scott stopped, hands hovering over the keys. “Then just listen to me. I wasn’t fair, I saw the Wolf and I refused to see anything else but…I don’t think it was all a lie. It wasn’t for me. I didn’t target you, I fell in love with someone that my best friend in the whole world and it was just an accident that it was you.”

“I’m not him.” Scott whispered, dropping his eyes to his hands. “I’m a killer, I’m a monster. I can’t be the person that you want. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“Like hell I don’t! If you’re a monster, than I am too. I’ve done terrible things, but when I was with you, all I could think about was the good and I refuse to believe that it was just an act.”

“What if it was? What if nothing I am is real?” There was too much hope in Stiles’s words and it would be dangerously easy for Scott to fall for them.

Stiles leaned in close, tipping Scott’s head up so they could share a breath. “You’re real. Maybe I don’t know you, but I’d like the chance to try. If there’s anything of my Scott in you then I-, then maybe we could…”  His lips brushed against Scott’s, an apology, a plea, a promise. An almost.

But before they could kiss, a dozen alerts flood his screen, each blocking out the rest as they fought to prove urgency.

“What’s going on?” Kira asked, peering over his shoulder, as Allison surreptitiously grit her jaw, standing up straighter.

“We’re too late.” The new leader of the Hunters said. “That’s what it means, doesn’t it.”

Kira let out a startled gasp, and Allison tightened her hold. Scott looked between one ashen face to the next, every one of them doing their best to fight back horror, and his gaze finally found Stiles. Stiles stood a little taller, slipping his hand into Scott’s.

“No we’re not. Not yet.” Scott said. He never took his eyes off the assassin. “I have a plan."

**Author's Note:**

> You can find Dans's awesome fics [here](http://nevertrustastilesthing.tumblr.com/)
> 
> You can read Rune's stuff [Here](http://fightingforthepack.tumblr.com/) and find her on tumblr at [ Runicscribbles](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com)


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